A true Irish legend visited St John’s College on Monday the 5th February to talk to pupil’s about his work as a leading Social Entrepreneur and to encourage them to consider becoming one in the future. John established the charity GOAL.
The following is a Profile written by the Irish Independent (https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/profile.html)
Profile: John O’Shea – The soft-hearted tyrant whose life work has been to fight injustice in the third world
JOHN O’Shea is an enigma. A man with boundless compassion, he has undoubtedly saved tens of thousands of lives by ensuring aid gets to the poorest of the poor in disaster zones around the world.
But he is also bolshie and always ready to berate heads of state for not doing enough, and would readily admit that diplomacy is not his strong suit.
Those who have worked alongside the 68-year-old say he is a kaleidoscope of features — a soft-hearted tyrant who will tell you exactly what he is thinking with no sugar-coating.
Whatever his personality traits, there is no escaping the fact that he is one of the most successful charity leaders Ireland has ever produced. Over the last 35 years GOAL has spent almost three-quarters of a billion euro on humanitarian projects in 50 countries around the world.